Performances

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Business, Chris Hamilton, Performance, Roger Skai, Thomas J. Bellezza, top of the bottom pile

Performances

We love performing. How often we perform depends on if we are on tour, working material, or walking around. Busy does as busy is. There’s a sense of interesting concern in comedy. A thought that if you are not seen performing then you are not doing anything. Is performance really progress? How aggressively should a person be performing to be considered professional? Paid/unpaid!?

If a comedian performs every Friday / Saturday, and is being paid, are they more successful then a comedian performing for free seven days a week? What about a comedian performing only three months out of the year on tour? Our feeling is performance is our reward for doing our job. The job of making a career and getting all our business in order.

We look at everyone with the same amount of respect. Working, paid, unpaid, touring, just starting out, or whatever your situation is, we love and respect the crap out of you. This is a hard business, comedy. It’s beautiful when you see people doing what they love. The idea should be to judge less, working together more, and inspire one another to be successful in both business and entertainment!

“Look to the future, because that is where you’ll spend the rest of your life.” ~ George Burns

Top of the Bottom Pile: The best of the worst, your second best choice!

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Festivals and volunteering at the bottom

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Chris Hamilton, Festivals, Roger Skai, Thomas J. Bellezza, top of the bottom pile, Volunteering

Festivals and volunteering at the bottom

Last weekend was a chance for a few members of Top of the Bottom Pile to go and help out. That’s the name of the game. Helping, working together and making a difference. To change the game, one must become the change they want to see. So our team jumped on a chance to volunteer for the ‘Woodstock Comedy Festival‘ to bring awareness to domestic abuse and human trafficking.

None of us performed. It was all about giving back to the business we all love. Besides, we had a chance to Network, Market, and Practice our beliefs of being involved and changing the game to a selfless team mentality on our trip from bottom to top! The town was beautiful, embracing, and they had a drum circle on Sunday. Hippies! Talk about fun! Loved it very much!

Watching how a festival is ran from the inside is extremely valuable. It gave an insight on process. Something to think about when performing at these events. A lot of stress, and work, go into making festivals a big success. So next time we are involved on a performer level, we know to give the people working their space. Let them do what they do so we can do what we do.

“The system doesn’t run itself. It takes everyone from the top to the bottom to get it going right!”

Top of the Bottom Pile: The best of the worst, your second best choice!

At the Top of the hour

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Chris Hamilton, Networking, Radio, Radio Show, Roger Skai, Thomas J. Bellezza, top of the bottom pile

At the Top of the hour

Radio has come the way of our very small hill top! BBox Radio has asked us to have a show. But why do a radio show? Rather, an internet show? There must be something bigger going on than just speaking on radio to be heard and seen! Everything we do, everything people do, should affect everything leading to the top of their mountain.

There are two kinds of people; People who do to be seen and reap the rewards of attention and then there are Givers. Top of the Bottom Pile lives by a deep message to always be helping. Rise together, be the best of the worst and help one another. If not to see the world of hope giving opportunity, then to see everyone working to make this business of entertainment a better environment.

This show is a great chance to build on that message and open doors for others to express themselves! Our goal is to also educate others on the process of how this business, or any business, works. The behind the scenes aspects of it all. Get named celebrities to come in and talk about how and when it was that moments started happening for them. Let’s rise to the Top of the hour!

“Everyone begins at the bottom, why not embrace the journey together to the top!”

Top of the Bottom Pile: The best of the worst, your second best choice!

Screaming from the bottom

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Chris Hamilton, Ego, Roger Skai, Selfless, Teamwork, Thomas J. Bellezza, top of the bottom pile

Screaming from the bottom

“I want my chance!”, “I deserve my chance!”, “I am funnier than everyone, give me my chance!”. This is something that is said far too often in the scene. Followed by a response of maybe “Write more”, “Perform more”, “You have to pay your dues”. But these are all just sayings. Ramblings from a mountain top consumed with Flags. How loud can you scream to get the attention needed?

We don’t want our chance. Because wanting something means it is outside our control and nowhere near in our own grasp. Action creates results. The length of time to succeed is dictated by effort. We don’t deserve our chance. Chance is a risk. It is a gamble. Why gamble against the house? Opportunity is a much better word. Opening doors to opportunity through effort. We are not the funniest around.

But, we will keep running on the treadmill long after everyone else falls. Perseverance is key to a successful life. Longevity comes from helping up the people who fell on the way. The mountain had flags from the past on there and open spots for plenty of more. There is a way of thinking which leads us to understand the mountain is nothing to own, but to walk upon while traveling to the next moment.

“The mountain has a view beautiful to see, enjoy it, then more on, for there are many views beyond.”

Top of the Bottom Pile: The best of the worst, your second best choice!

Bottoms up!

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Auditions, Chris Hamilton, comedy, Kenny Murdock, Roger Skai, Stand-up Comedy, Thomas J. Bellezza, top of the bottom pile

Bottoms up!

The success of others is the success of us. What does that even mean? One of our Pile Brothers was passed at Comic Strip Live after his audition. Roger and Thomas have theirs coming up soon. He was passed in a way that made us all a little proud inside. He got no bad criticism from the owner. He was the most confident on stage, and he knew his material.

What makes this event all the more special is he did it the Pile way. The way of changing the game. We want people to explore outside routes from the norm. Because, let us face it, the norm has hundreds of thousands of comedians fighting for their chance. What if there was another way? Well, there is, and our Pile Brother, Kenny Murdock (The guy with glasses) did it another way from the norm.

The idea is that we work to support one another. Either a part of the pile or not. This game is big enough for all of us to be working together. There are other routes to the top, and all the boys are doing it. Staying focused, working their craft, building relationships and even growing a Brand. All we can say is that the Bottom went up the other night, and there is still more happening! To the Top!

Top of the Bottom Pile: The best of the worst, your second best choice!

Another Top Meeting

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Business, Chris Hamilton, comedy, Meetings, Roger Skai, Thomas J. Bellezza, top of the bottom pile

Another Top Meeting

A good meeting makes things great. What makes a good meeting? Conversation, trust, and a willingness never to hold back thoughts, ideas, and brainstorming. This week was the first time, in a while, we met face to face. It feels so much better than Skyping. The physical aspect of it really brings teams together. You get a chance to remember each of us are real.

Our meetings consist of laughing, S.M.A.R.T. Goals, planning out City walks, and really learning about one another. These are people who are going to be working together and making a difference. Changing a game which continues to remain stagnate. A system of ideas which maintain a status quo. We want others to change their game and make a difference too.

There is an amazing feeling when our efforts make others change up their style. Start working as a team, and more importantly, know that we too want to help other people in this industry. What we have planned for comedy is more than just jokes, more than a scene, but an empire to see others succeed. To open doors for ourselves so we can break down walls for other entertainers who deserve a chance. 

Top of the Bottom Pile: The best of the worst, your second best choice!